The other night I watched the NIT Men’s Basketball Championship between UNC and Dayton. The first thing I noticed is this is not a UNC team like I remember watching in the past. They were playing, but it didn’t appear that they were playing to win. No real EXTRA effort.

That being said, what are you doing with your website? Are you doing just enough to be competitive, or are you doing EXTRA things that will put you above your competitors?

Competition

The internet is a now a very crowded place to be, much like a basketball tournament. Many teams and websites competing for the number one spot. What determines who achieves this spot? The answer is effort. The team that puts in the extra time in practice will normally beat the team that did not. The team that puts in the extra time wants it more. Do you want success for your website?

How do you achieve success with your website?

I think you might know what I’m going to say next. You’re right, EXTRA EFFORT. Successful websites are those that receive constant attention. This can result from many different things. For example, are you building links on an ongoing and consistent basis? If you are, chances are you can see the results it brings. If you’re not, you might have a website that is competitive, but not a winner. Your site might be on second or third page Google for your desired keywords. Are you happy with that?

Do you know where your website even ranks for keywords that can bring you leads, sales and revenue? Just having a website now is pretty much just par for the course. If you do extra things like search engine optimization, your website can become one of your best salespeople.

Google some terms that you think your potential customers would use to find a product or service that you provide. The websites that you see on the front page, especially those above the fold, are generating visitors that most likely convert into customers. If your website is not one of those, then your competition has been working harder and smarter than you and they are reaping the benefits. They are doing the EXTRA things that separate a mediocre business from a successful one.

It’s time for a change

If you are not happy with the results (or lack there of) from your website, do something about it and do it now. Put together a web strategy that will put you on top. Find out what your competitors have done to earn top positions for the revenue generating keywords that you desire. Now, go and do all of those things and most importantly, DO MORE! The only way to have more success is to go that extra mile and do those extra things that your competitors aren’t doing.

This could be a number of things. Maybe they have a lot of links, but not a blog. If that’s the case, build a blog and fill it with great content. Or, commit to an ongoing link building strategy that will bring you more links than your competition. Don’t have the time or manpower, outsource it.

Championship teams don’t practice to compete, they practice to win. If your business chooses to have a website, why not build a great website and promote it so much that it stomps your competition?